Freddie Prinze Jr. Praises Ricky Starks' Recent Promos On AEW Collision

The launch of "AEW Collision" has been a godsend for wrestlers such as Ricky Starks, who — like many others on AEW's stacked roster — struggled to regularly get airtime on "AEW Dynamite." Now that Starks is a weekly staple, he continues to seize the opportunity to showcase his skills — both on the mic and in the ring — much to the delight of actor Freddie Prinze Jr.

On a recent episode of "Wrestling With Freddie," Prinze heaped praise on Starks for his recent promo work.

"The last two promos he did were as heel and 'All about me' as you can get, and the crowd was like, 'Yo, we don't give a s–t, we freakin love you, Ricky. We don't care if you cheat to win.' This week, my man walked out in separated pearls around his neck. I hadn't seen a babyface do that since Princess Diana, she was the last one with the guts to wear it.

"He came out in separated pearls, and didn't get booed once," Prinze continued. "He has so much going for him right now. I hope the company sees this."

Prinze proceeded to preview the upcoming Starks vs. Punk rematch, which will be contested for the AEW 'X' Championship that Punk claims is the legitimate world championship of the promotion. The former WWE writer predicts Punk will likely "get a shady victory" to repay the favor of Starks cheating to beat him in the Owen Hart Cup final. 

He credited Punk for encouraging Starks to make derogatory comments about his recent injury history and age, suggesting that the content of the promo was likely Punk's idea. "I think Punk's in on that, and I give him props for that because he let Ricky go and really shine. And when you let that guy shine, he shines bright!"